A colleague of mine frequently expressed that ‘everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die!’ I think the strong Northern Irish lilt gave the statement an increased gravitas. Most of us have goals. Some have a multitude of inspiring targets and whilst we use labels such as passion, conviction and perseverance to reflect our commitment to attaining our personal touch down, most great intentions somehow fall by the wayside and collect cobwebs. We may blame our lack of belief, lack of time, lack of money, lack of encouragement or any other number of perceived lacks for our lack of progress but there is one ingredient that almost exclusively offers a massive leverage to our efforts. The ingredient is what I call Urgency. There is magic to Urgency. Deadlines do indeed induce stress, but also create a surge of action inducing adrenalin. Sometimes our decision-making processes can be impaired by having to act on the run, but, and here’s the rub: decisions get made and actions get taken. The biggest inhibitor of progress is procrastination. Procrastination is indeed safe, at least in the short term, but alas the biggest risk in life is trying to navigate our brief moment in eternity by doing nothing, chasing nothing, risking nothing and hoping that by default we will achieve anything. When we inject Urgency into our lives it becomes a different kind of world. Imagine if you made more decisions, and acted with urgency as a habit how different your life might look. Imagine if losing 10 kilos of body fat became Urgent rather than preferred. Imagine if starting that business that has been on your to do list became something that needed to happen NOW. Imagine if that grudge you’ve held for years with a former friend, family member, needed to be resolved today. Urgency is something that needs to be cultivated. Many if not most of us suffer from an in ordinate habit of procrastination. Occasionally this saves us from making poor decisions, but mostly it just glues us to our perceived comfort zone. Try it for a week, a month a year. I’d wager few things will have a more profound impact on your life, inclusive, health, wealth and general happiness.